Specimen Preparation: Tortoise Curio 🐢🌼

This curio was created using a naturally shed fragment from my Horsefield/Russian tortoise Sally’s shell, which snapped off when he climbed out of his enclosure (he remains completely healthy). I combined this unique piece with natural elements I collected from my garden and foraging walks — including small rocks and dried snow-in-summer flowers, which I had originally gathered as food enrichment for my tortoises. The project represents both a personal connection to my pets and a creative exploration of curatorial practice.

🧰 Materials and Equipment:

• 🐢 Tortoise shell fragment (naturally shed, from Sally)

• 🪨 Small rocks (collected from my back garden)

• 🫙 Glass jar container

• 🧼 Soap and water cleaning solution

• 🪥 Scrubbing tools and brushes

• 🧻 Paper towels (for drying before display)

• ⏳ Drying time: several hours

• 🧤 Rubber gloves and safety equipment

⚙️ Preparation Process:

• 🫧 Initial Cleaning – Washed the shell fragment, rocks, and dried flowers using soap and water solution

• 🪥 Detailed Preparation – Carefully scrubbed and dried all components to prevent residue or mould

• 🫙 Assembly and Curation – Arranged the shell, rocks, and dried flowers into the jar with aesthetic balance and curatorial intention

Sally's tortoise shell piece, rocks, and dried Snow-in-Summer flowers - Kirk Hallam, Derbyshire - 08/07/2021

Key Skills Developed:

• 🖼️ Curatorial and Display Skills – Material integration combining pet-derived, botanical, and geological finds into a unified display. Aesthetic arrangement with designing a balanced composition that highlights the shell fragment as the focal point.

• 🫙 Preservation and Collections Management – Multi-material preservation, applying conservation methods suited to shell, stone, and dried plants. As well as building a sustainable personal specimen archive.

• 🏛️ Museum-Related Skills – Collections handling awareness with cleaning and handling fragile shell and floral materials safely. Using exhibition insight and understanding how small-scale objects can be presented for storytelling impact.

• 🎨 Professional Skills – Organisation and creative presentation, coordinating cleaning, preservation, and curation workflows.

This jar curio represents a meaningful fusion of personal experience and curatorial creativity. By combining a naturally shed shell fragment with foraged and garden-collected materials, I created a specimen that connects my tortoise care with my developing practice in preservation and display. The project deepened my skills in handling multi-material collections while reinforcing how personal stories can be elevated into engaging, museum-inspired exhibits.

💀 See more on my Instagram: @BonesByShannon 🪲

💡 Enjoyed this post? Subscribe!

✨ Learn more about my work and aspirations here: My Portfolio